Starplex AmphitheatreSmirnoff Music CentreSuperpages.com CenterGexa Energy Pavilion turned 25 this year, and it looks every bit its age. Name a thing, and it needs replacing -- or, at the very least, a repainting. Says Daniel Huerta, Fair Park's executive general manager, the city-owned shed needs a good $6.5 million worth of work. At least.

"The seats, video board, the sponsorship signage, the bathrooms, the exterior need a repaint." Huerta could go on, and he does: "There's no air conditioning in the bathrooms, just fans. They need to renovate the dressing rooms. The electrical needs to be upgraded. They need a new irrigation system, a new LED video display, new erosion control, concession stands." Whew.

"There are a lot of needs," he says. "The place looks run down."

There's just one problem, Huerta says: "The city can't fund it."

Which is why Gexa's on the Park Board's to-do list Thursday: Huerta and Willis Winters, Park and Recreation director, are going to ask the board to allow Live Nation Concerts, which operates the amphitheater, to make the needed improvements. The city would then credit Live Nation on its rent until the makeover's paid for, which shouldn't take long: Huerta says Live Nation paid the city $965,897 in 2012, based on a guaranteed rental payment and a percentage of revenue from the 31 shows booked into the Gexa last year.

Live Nation would also agree to exercise its final 10-year-option on Gexa, keeping the promoter in place until 2028.

"It's an important venue for us," says Huerta. "It's the third-largest attendance-generator for Fair Park. We're trying to make sure we keep it a viable venue. Every time I read about someone else exploring a music venue, I think, 'Oh, God.' We need to make sure we keep this one -- one of the oldest amphitheaters in the country."

The board won't be asked to vote this week; that will happen at the next meeting. But Huerta is optimistic.

"Especially since it would keep them through 2028," he says. "That's important. We're focused on the revenue and keeping Fair Park viable."